Blooming together
by araregem
Summary: A flower blooms gracefully only if the root is strong and supportive. A SaiIno love story.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: A flower blooms gracefully only if the root is strong and supportive. [SaiIno]

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Note: This is my first fic. Hope you like it.

Chapter 1

My eyelids feel very heavy and I begin analyzing where I am. It is then I realize that all of it had been a dream,but I didn't want them to end. I know that I'm being unfair,but I really liked Infinite Tsukyomi because everything seemed possible there. As all these thoughts made my mind blurry I could feel that I'm being released from the tight grip of the cocoon that was holding me all this while. When I'm out of it,every muscle in my body ached and I spin around and land on the ground with a thud. I could here a lot of chattering around me with most of it being familiar voices. I'm too lazy to get up from my current position and still not over the genjutsu as I feel dazed. Amidst all the voices I hear there's one that's directed towards me. "Still not over the dream world,Ino-pig?" that person asks me with a teasing tone in their voice. I immediately know who it is and my lips form a small smile due to the familiarity I share with the person. My body moves automatically and I lift my head to see her. "Sup, forehead?"I ask her as though I'm meeting her on her day off and no such thing called 'War' had occurred. She understands me more than anyone and grins at me as she lifts me up from the ground and realizes that I won't be able to stand up without a support. Ignoring it, she pulls me into her arm for a quick hug .She whispers in my ears slowly,"We won Ino! And" she pauses "Sasuke kun is back."I could feel the smile in her voice and I give her the best possible smile of mine in return. I am happy for her. Before I could tell her something, I collapse and fall but she catches me on time."Sweetie, you're in a bad shape. Let me heal you" she says and begins fussing over my cuts and wounds. Infact she looks more beaten than me but the thing of having Sasuke back makes her look stronger than ever. As her chakra enters my body it heals all my cuts and mostly brings me out from the damn genjutsu completely. Finally I can feel my limbs moving and I test this by stretching my fingers. "Forehead,I don't owe you for this" I chuckle as she continues healing me. Her concentration never wavers during her healing. I muster all my strength and tell her after a deep thought "You can have Sasuke. He's yours" I say the last part flatly. I'm not the kind of person that accepts defeat easily but if anyone could see her love for him, they would tell the same. I could see her tears ready to burst out from her eyes but she's holding them back as if she knows why I said that. Before she could start doing something stupid like crying I tell her "We're still rivals, Forehead. Don't forget it" I smirk at her and she stops healing me. "I guess you're fine now Ino-pig. Move your lazy ass and use medical ninjutsu to heal as many as people possible" she pushes me to make me move and I'm amused by her action to make me active.

She giggles looking at my puzzled expression and that's when I bump into the two people I wanted to see the most. I ask "you guys still alive?"with a tone of sarcasm in my voice to which Shikamaru responds with his sly smile and Chouji nods innocently with a smile. There they are-my lazy teammates. My family. Idiots. Chouji's smile turns into a worried look all of a sudden, "I wish uncle Shikaku and uncle Inoichi were here" he says and he begins to cry. That's when I realize it. The feeling is like a punch in my gut. Seeing our faces Chouji regrets for having said that. "Daddy" I whisper and my legs start to move automatically. I'm running past the celebrating shinobis with Chouji and Shikamaru following me quickly behind. I run and run having nowhere to go. The stupid dreams confused the reality. It played mind games with me. Ironically, that's my Yamanaka's clan speciality(_We use mind techniques to interrogate people and collect intel_._Sometimes even to cause mental trauma._)My father is gone during the war. He's no more. And I have no one left. With all these thoughts in my mind, I halt at a place thinking what's going to happen to me. I bend my head facing the ground panting,to hide my tears if they escaped my eyes. Somebody places their hand on my back and calls my name. I look up and see white tents all around me. I can see people carried in stretcher and getting healed. I see Shizune,the Head of the Medical Squad standing before me. "I'm sorry Ino" she says and I know for what. _(Maybe she couldn't heal my father.) _I thought she was done talking but when she sees Shikamaru and Chouji finally reaching where I'm standing she sees them yelling at me for running like a maniac leaving them. I could hear Shikamaru calling me troublesome and Chouji telling he's hungry due to the run. When things looked like they wouldn't calm down, Shizune cleared her throat and like magic the boys quit their complaining. Shizune keeps her face serious and continues "You all know that the HQ was bombed by the ten tails. The impact of the bomb was so much that we couldn't find anybody. Everything was blown to bits." she stops to look at me and Shikamaru "I'm really sorry. In no way we could repay your losses" she pats us and waits for us to say something but instead silence answers her. She leaves us alone while we take in what she had just said. Chouji whimpers and I could hear him sobbing. I'm really pissed off now because I'm the one who should sob like that. I yell at Chouji, "Don't cry. My father and uncle Shikaku didn't die in vain. They're heroes" I can feel pride swelling in my body and hearing this Chouji's tears break into a small smile. "Death is a part of being a shinobi" Shikamaru talks for the first time after the dead silence.

_(After a few days a funeral for the ones who died in the war was held)_

During the funeral, I stand beside Shikamaru for he shares my pain of losing a father. He breaks down after everybody left with only myself and Chouji beside him. I don't know why I didn't cry yet. Maybe I didn't have any tears to shed or my pride prevented me from crying. I console Shikamaru and remind him that he has to stay tough for his mother. He can't cry like this in front of her,I remind him to which he silently nods. The three of us walk back home and when I reach mine Shikamaru looks at me knowing who'll be at my place. (_No one.I am an orphan now.)_He asks "You sure you'll be okay? You can stay over at my place till things get better. I'm a tough girl,though deep inside I'm insecure. I manage to look fine and tell him "I'm okay " and walk towards my gate without looking at him thinking that seeing him would change my mind.

My house is empty. Nobody to welcome me. I can smell my dad everywhere but all I can see now is his picture. I can't bear it anymore so I just hide myself with a blanket and go to sleep hoping to see my dad in dreams. (_I don't get up from my bed other than for using washroom. I survive drinking water. I look as though I lost 10kgs. )_I'm practically invisible right now as no one bothers to even visit me. But one day, I hear loud banging on my front door. I'm too weak to even get up from my bed or to reply to the one calling out for me. After a minute or so I hear a loud breaking noise. (_Maybe my front door is broken. )_I hear small footsteps reaching my room as the door knob turns I see a tint of pink and decide that its my bestfriend, Sakura. "What the heck Ino!"she startled me and looks at me. She continues her endless blabbering "After the funeral I didn't get to see you. What are you up to?" she eyes at me suspiciously. But all she could see was only my face as I was covering myself tightly with a blanket. She pulls the blanket with such ease from my fragile hands. "You look sick! Did you eat anything at all?" she asks me with concern and shock for which I shake my head. She gets me loads of stuff for stuff for breakfast and helps me eat. I don't utter a word since I'm sensing food in my mouth after four days. (_She tells me its been four days since the funeral. I'm not keeping track of days or time_ _currently._) "You could stay with me"she says breaking the sound of me munching the food. I gulp the food and say "I'm fine here" for which she gives me a I'll-kill-you look."FINE?!" she yells at me,"You call this fine?"she motions her hand towards me to indicate the shape I'm in and continues "I think this is the first time in your life that you don't look pretty" she laughs. It hits me after a second that what she had just said and I join her in for the laughter. This is the first time I'm laughing after the war."How do you manage to look ugly all these years, forehead?"I mimic the way she talks and adjust my hair that's when I realize that my hair is a mess."That's simple. Just avoid the mirrors"she giggles enjoying her own joke.

Since I totally refused the idea of staying at her place, she visits me regularly. She brings me something to eat. Combs my hair and insists me to do something other than lazing about at home all the time. I slowly try following her advise. I begin by reopening the Yamanaka Flower shop which was closed all this while with the help of Sakura,Chouji and Shikamaru. Then I resume my training and chakra control exercises. At first my body refused to move, but with practise things became less sick.

Whenever I get back home, I'm still greeted with silence. That's when I make a list of people I know in my mind who are orphans like me. Naruto,Sasuke kun,Neji,Sai and now Ino. I added my name to the list. It felt as though someone stabbed my heart with a kunai. Painful. Even if I keep myself busy, my heart ached. I wonder how they felt all these years. My heart throbbed and I couldn't stand it anymore. I wore my boots and slammed the front door of my house shut. I ran away from my place. Ran wherever my feet could take me. Ran away from the lingering scent of my dad. Ran until my chest felt less heavy. I see people staring at me but I don't mind. I finally stop on reaching a training ground. It was dark and there was not a soul around me. I sat leaning my back against a tree. It was like someone holding me. I tried fighting back my tears but I lost. I cried as much as possible hiding my face. (_Cried for the first time since my father's funeral_.) I moaned because of the pain I carried by myself in my heart all these days. I cried so much that I could never cry any more in my life. I wished that someone would appear out of nowhere and tell me that things would be okay. I could only wish. Slowly my tears died down and I could feel my heartbeat in the dead silence. I wipe them and look at the moon that's shining despite the darkness surrounding it. That's when I hear leaves rustling though there was no breeze. I look up and see him. I rub my eyes to see him clearly, because he looked as radiant as the moon. He was shining amidst the dark. His eyes and his hair matched the darkness of the sky. His hair moved rhythmically against the soft wind that blew. For a second I thought I saw two moons and then realized that it was-Sai. He would have heard me cry, I thought. I don't want him to ask why I cried,so I look up to him and ask him "What are you doing?"sounding as casual as possible. "Drawing" he says and continues his work. "In the dark?"I asked in disbelief. "No light is needed to draw what you like" he says and stops drawing. I think I interrupted his work, because he folds it all and keeps inside his bag. He climbs down from the tree before I could blink my eyes. He looks at my eyes and the tears surrounding it. I secretly hoped that he wouldn't ask me about it."Don't control your tears. Cry as much as you can, you'd feel better" he says with a genuine smile and continues "I read that in a book" he completes. I think I really do feel good now. "Thanks Sai. I guess I'm done with it" I give him a forced smile. "Its dark" he eyes the surroundings "Do you want me to walk you home?" he asks sounding concerned. (_Maybe he read in a book that it's better to walk a girl back home when its dark. I quickly dismiss that idea.) _

Normally I would've refused but now I'm starved of a human companion so I agree to him was an awkward silence between us for a long time, I break it. "How's the shinobi world now?" I ask cheerfully."Peaceful" he says. An answer that I wanted to hear for the longest time. Wish my dad was alive to witness it. I was lost in my thoughts but Sai chose to ask me this "When are you going to start doing missions?"I frankly didn't think about it. I lied to him "Soon". After walking with Sai, I don't want to stay home alone. I tell him "I want to go to Shikamaru's place. Been long". "Then here it is"he stops walking and motions me towards the gate. "Thank you"I tell him. (_I thanked him for walking with me. Asking things about me. I finally felt sane. My thank you meant all that. I'm sure he won't quite understand that. Yet. )_He looks more and more like Sasuke. Infact he looks more handsome than Sasuke. (_Sasuke has a creepy Rinnegan I heard. I imagined him with that and didn't like it_.) He gives me a smile in return. A smile I have never seen before. "Take care, " he says and leaves without a trace. I stand shocked. Blushing at his words. I would be red like a beetroot now, I thought and silently thanked god that he didn't notice it.

With courage to face her, I knocked the door and Yoshino opened it. She gave me a surprised look, "Oh my god! Ino dear" she holds my face and mutters "Its been so long" and hugs me tightly. Now I hate myself for ignoring her all these days. I should've met her earlier. Yoshino was like a mother to me. I kicked myself for not sharing my sorrow with her. Under her arms I begin to cry. Cry like a newborn. All my pent up worries flooded to her. She begins to cry as well. We both weep together and mourn our losses. She says "I atleast have Shikamaru" giving me a concerned look. I manage to put up a smile and say "I have a shop" to which we both giggle. We have dinner and talk stories about the Ino-Shika-Chou. Thank god, Shikamaru was out for a mission else he would have thought that we were being troublesome. I stayed over at the Nara's.

Before I slept I thought of Sai and his words that it was okay to cry and also it's good to let people into your life. Unknowingly I shared my sorrow with him and knowingly with Yoshino. That's when I realize that even a fully bloomed flower needs root to survive. I silently thanked Sai and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Please review once you're done reading the story. Any suggestions/corrections will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Chapter 2

Golden yellow sun rays hit my eyes and tell me that it's morning. I do a quick checklist of how I'm feeling right now. Is my head feeling heavy? No. Am I able to move my limbs freely? Yes. I look around me and wonder where I am, that's when I see my Genin team picture beside and decide that I'm in Shikamaru's room. Once I come out of the room, I see Yoshino and conclude that I was right. She beams at me, "Good morning,Ino dear. Did you sleep well? "she asks me like how my dad would ask. Suddenly it felt as though I was home. "I slept for too long. Didn't I?" I ask her sheepishly, feeling a little guilty. "Oh. No dear. You needed this rest" she assures me by patting my forehead and goes to check on Shikamaru's room if things were neat. With a satisfied smile she looks up at me and says "Thank you dear. I hoped that you wouldn't mind sleeping in his room". "I hope he doesn't mind" I say it with a chuckle to which she laughs and agrees. She goes to make me tea and I sit aimlessly on the chair. I hear the front door open and I tilt my head to see who it was. "Think of the devil and there she is" he motions his hands towards me to which I wince. "Shikamaaaaru. I'll beat you into a pulp" I say stretching my arms and folding my fingers to give him a punch. "That's the Ino I know" he says smirking at me while I still continue swearing at him in my lowest possible voice. I get my tea from Yoshino and begin drinking it with my eyes closed. He clears his throat and I open my eyes reacting to him. "I had to talk to you anyway. You saved me from the trouble of finding you" he says with the usual laziness in his voice. "What's the matter?" I ask him with an urge. I could see Yoshino taking a break from her kitchen work to listen to our small talk.

"Well..Ino we want you back in action" he says with a pause and continues "as a shinobi".

"You want me to do missions at this peaceful time?" I ask him calmly sipping the tea slowly and enjoying its taste. "Tea is simply wonderful. Yummy! "I look at Yoshino and slurp the tea to which she smiles "I'm glad that you like it dear " she says nervously. (_I could feel him getting irritated now. That's what I wanted. Pays him right for calling me devil.)_

"Listen to me. The shinobi world is at peace right now, but still we have our duties. Many died during the war so we have more to do. I know its troublesome" he says sulking, "but we aren't kids anymore" he stresses on the last part. (_Not even in my wildest dreams I imagined him to be this responsible. But I knew that he had it in him.)_

I take in whatever he just said. I keep my fingers on my head trying to think logically. "What should I do?" I ask him seriously. He hands me over a scroll and smiles victoriously. (_He's great at convincing people. I'm not doing this for him but for myself. I need to start working. My dad would've wanted this.)_ "Congratulations! You're an Anbu now" he says and I look at the contents in disbelief. "Is this what you and Chouji doing?" I ask him with my eyes still reading the scroll. He scratches his head and says "No. We're not a part of the Anbu. I'm in the Intelligence department while Chouji is one of the guards of the village." "Are we no more a team?" I ask him raising my voice and rising from the chair before he could complete what he wanted to say. (_Ino-Shika-Chou always works as a team since we perform combined attack. We posses immobilize and then eliminate an enemy._) Yoshino had the same reaction as me. He sulks, "They have seen what we can do. They want to do what our fathers did" he ends his talk. "They?" I ask him with a questioning look. "The Alliance" he says and continues "If you're having any more questions, meet the Hokage in an hour. It's troublesome answering you". With that he leaves the house saying he needs to report for a meeting ignoring his mother's offer to eat something. I thought Ino-Shika-Chou worked best together. But maybe they want to use our individual talents for now and make us function as a team when there's trouble. "Ino dear, freshen up. You have a busy day ahead", she stops to hug me and says "Congrats. You'd be a great Anbu" she smiles at me with pride.

(_I enter the Rokudaime Hokage's room with an anxiety.)_

As the sound of my heels echoed through the Hokage's room, Kakashi sensei lifted his head from the book he's been reading all this while to look at me. "Ah. Welcome back, Yamanaka Ino" he says cheerfully with a smile to which I respond with a smile. "I hope Shikamaru briefed you. Now I'll give you the details" he says rummaging his desk to pull out another scroll from which he read out loud "Yamanaka Ino will be a part of the Anbu and the Interrogation Squad. You'd have to report to Morino Ibiki" he looks at me and says light heartedly "I'm sure you'd remember him". When I think of Ibiki, I shudder. He was one of my examiners in the Chunin exams. I have heard stories about his style of interrogation. To work under him is going to be a nightmare, I tell myself. As though he could read my mind the Hokage begins laughing "You'll be fine" he reassures me to which I nod weakly. I know I should take my leave but my curiosity doesn't allow me. Rokudaime looks at me, "What is it Ino?" he asks. I gather all my courage "If you can..Lord Hokage,umm.. What is Sakura doing?" I ask him amidst my stammering due to the stupidity of my question. He's going to think that I'm unfit to be an Anbu. He laughs at me and I'm standing clueless. "Curiosity isn't bad. Your friend is working at the Konoha Hospital assisting the Godaime" he says. Honestly, I'm not surprised. I'm happy for her. "Give your best. I'm counting on you" the Hokage tells me. "Yes sir " I reply to him confidently and take my leave. (_I'm not going to lose to Forehead._ )

_(At the Anbu headquarters)_

I enter the Anbu headquarters to collect my newly assigned uniform, weapons and mask. The place has a mysterious aura to it. Shinobis enter, collect their stuff and leave without a word. (_Totally not my kind of place. It's too dark and people don't even talk._ ) I search for a familiar face in the room, twirling around in my Anbu outfit. I see him amidst the group of people. Who would miss spotting the boy with raven hair and pale skin? Even the Anbu outfit cannot hide Sai's skin colour. I walk towards him relieved that I had found someone I know. (_I don't know much about him. But he was Sakura's teammate, about my age and former member of the Root. He has difficulty in expressing his feelings. But he helped me out yesterday for which I'm grateful.)_

"Hey Sai " I say with my cheerful voice and wave at him. He removes his mask and looks puzzled. "Thank god you're here" I tell him and sigh. "Ino?" he asks me with a confused look. "You look totally different in this uniform" he says pointing at my new outfit. "Yeah. I'm supposed to. Right?" I adjust my ponytail as I ask him. He gives me his trademark smile and says "you look too good to be an Anbu". I begin to blush. Do I really look that good? I wondered. He suddenly keeps his hand on his head and turns away from me. He did that as though he regretted on telling me those words. Understanding his uneasiness I tell him " It's okay Sai. I didn't take it wrong. Infact it's a compliment." He turns towards me still looking nervous. Before I could further convince him, I'm cut off by an instruction from our Anbu chief- Izumo and Kotetsu. They basically briefed us about our job and the new rules since we're at a time of peace.

We're given a break and all of us scatter around away from the Headquarters. I spot Sai standing alone. I walk towards him and still see him nervous. Before he could run away from me, I tell him " Sai. I want us to be good friends since I practically know no one here. There's no one my age except you". I pause waiting for his reaction and continue "you can compliment a friend based on their looks" I blush slightly when I tell him that.

"Friend?" he asks me as though he doesn't know what it means and murmurs "like Naruto kun and Sakura chan". "Like that. Let's be good friends " I tell him as patiently as possible and offer him my hand. "Friend" he says and gives me a warm handshake to which I smile. (_I can feel him sweating his palms_.)

_(During lunch break)_

I share my lunch with Sai which Yoshino had packed for me. He breaks the long silence "So friends share lunch" and continues eating. "And even secrets" I tell him hissing on the word 'secrets' and end up giggling. "Secrets, likes, dislikes , anything" I add before he could get confused. "Example?" he asks me seriously. I can see a glow of curiosity in his eyes. "Like.. What's your favourite colour?" I ask him with enthusiasm. He looks blank. Thinks for a while and says "I don't know". (_What the heck? How can someone not know their __favourite__colour__?)_ I'm grunting now. "I like purple. The colour of the dress I used to wear" I tell him keeping my cool. (_I don't mention any flower for reference since I'm pretty sure that he won't know._) "That's a nice colour" he says beaming at me. We finish the rest of our lunch in silence.

Every division gets trained separately. Since I'm in the Interrogation department, I get to meet my team members. Thank god Ibiki didn't join us today as he had a meeting to attend. Sai's with the Intel department.

After few hours, when our duty for the day was done we could go home. I wear my normal clothes putting the Anbu stuff in my bag. I think whether I should wait for Sai or head home and I choose the latter. He's in a different department so they may leave him late, I convince myself and walk home. That's when I hear someone calling out for me and running towards me.

"Sai. What happened?" I ask him with a surprise. He's still panting due to the run but still talks, "I got it". "Got what?" I ask him with confusion. "My favourite colour " he says excitedly. (_He did? Wow._ ) "And what is it?" I ask him. He comes closer to me and says "the colour of your eyes ".

I look shocked. My throat feels choked. Nobody has ever said anything about the colour of my eyes. "Blue?" I ask him. Maybe he took the colour of my eyes as a reference for blue colour. He shakes his head, I could see his hair flying as he does that.

"Whatever the colour of your eyes is" he says smiling. He's insisting on my eye colour. This isn't something I expected. Does he really mean it? I wondered.

He comes closer to me and holds my shoulders. His grip was soft and at the same time strong. Warm. I gulped as I was unprepared for this closeness. I could smell paper and ink mixed with his sweat. I tried calming myself. Maybe he doesn't know what he's doing. "Thank you Ino. Now even I have a favourite colour" he says honestly. I can feel the smile in his voice. He really meant it. I didn't know how to respond. He releases his hands from my shoulders. I didn't want him to stop holding me that way. Strangely, it made me feel good. He whispers slowly amidst the cool breeze flowing between us. "Thank you, Ino". These words echoed into my ears. Before I could say a word, he zooms off into the Headquarters.I stand still trying to take in what just happened and smile to myself.

The first thing I do after reaching home is to see my eyes in a mirror.

_(Her eyes are crystal blue. A shade that shoudn't exist on the human body, a shade I immediately crave, a shade that makes my heart beat a little bit faster-almost as if I recognize it. I want to steal it, paint it, throw it into every room I decorate. It's the perfect blue I have ever seen. Her eyes are remarkable.)_

_-The Chaos of Stars_


End file.
